2010 Events

Lederach, John Paul (2003). The little book of conflict transformation. Intercourse, PA: Good Books.

John Paul Lederach presents his approach to conflict, which has evolved over 15 years of research, teaching and practice. Conflict transformation understands peace in conjunction with justice. Transformative processes give more attention to constructive change than might be considered under mere conflict resolution, especially when ongoing relationships are involved. The lens of conflict transformation views not only the immediate situation, but also looks at the underlying patterns and context, and seeks a conceptual framework for the situation. It addresses change on four levels, the personal, relational, structural and cultural. Lederach’s approach to change builds on process structures, and he suggests several practices for applying the conflict transformation paradigm.

Discuss the strategies of Nelson Mandela and how we might adapt them in our daily lives.

Directed by Clint Eastwood, Invictus (2009) stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela; born 18 July 1918, served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela served 27 years, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to multi-racial democracy in 1994. As president from 1994 to 1999, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation. Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.

Viewing this film in groups and discussing the choices people made in various situations will promote attention to challenging and productive strategies for working with others. The Conflict Resolution Month’s Viewers Guide will soon be available on line.

ACR is pleased to announce a poetry contest as a celebratory event of Conflict Resolution Day. This is a perfect summer project.
Student in grades 3 – 12 are invited to submit a poem on “Peace in My Community.” Poems must be submitted in English and contain no more than 20 lines.
Submissions will be accepted fromSeptember 1 – November 1, 2010.

For more information, please watch future ACR Updateand the websitewww.acrnet.org.

John DeBruyn’s Calendar Delivery Campaign and Prizes

Conflict Resolution Calendars for Teachers have arrived. They are available to teachers and anyone who will deliver a calendar to one or two or, best, three teachers.

John, one of our very enthusiastic supporters, is generously awarding an encased golden peace dollar to the first 24 people who distribute these conflict resolution calendars to three teachers. To receive the prize, each person can email proof of these good deeds to John. Ruth Rinehart has already been earned her award and is number one.

The calendars are available at the Colorado Bar Association offices on the ninth floor at 1900 Grant Street. Any one who wants to pick up a calendar or calendars there should first email me jdebruyn@debruyn.com and CC melissan@cobar.org which is Melissa to coordinate where the calendars are being held on the ninth floor for distribution.

The calendars are also available at The Conflict Center, 4140 Tejon St. Denver 80211.

Those who distribute the conflict resolution calendars to three teachers and are eligible for the coin award should email the names of the teachers who received the calendars, their email addresses and the schools involved to jdebruyn@debruyn.com with a copy to his legal assistant law@debruyn.com.

City of Colorado Springs Proclamation: October Conflict Resolution Month

Time & Place:

4:00 PM – The October Conflict Resolution Month Proclamation will be signed in the City of Colorado Springs Council Chambers, 107 N Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903. A reception will follow in the Seating Chambers adjacent to the Council Chambers.

City/Town:

Colorado Springs

Description:

Community Members and Alternative Dispute Resolution Professionals are invited to the Proclamation that October as Conflict Resolution Month by Mayor Lionel Rivera and to the reception following the proclamation.

7:00 PM – The pond next to Buchanan Recreation Center, 32003 Ellingwood Trail (east of the intersection of Highway 74 and Old Squaw Pass Road)

City/Town:

Evergreen, CO 80439

Description:

Light a Candle for Peace, an interfaith non-political observance of the UN International Day of Peace. Bring candles with wind protection or other light sources, music and thoughts of peace to share. All are invited.

PHR/SPHR/GPHR recertification Credits (7 hours ). This 1-day workshop is the positive approach to helping people make sure that others will not perceive them as being inappropriate or disrespectful. When others are comfortable with you and feel respected by you, they are unlikely to interpret your interactions as harassment or discrimination. We cannot control the perceptions of others, but we can develop interpersonal skills to assure that we handle ourselves with others in a manner that is most likely to be perceived as appropriate, tactful, courteous and respectful. This workshop teaches what to do, how to do it, and provides practice opportunities to start skill development. This training has been used internally by financial institutions, an auto dealership, local government agencies and others. Enrollment is limited to 18 people to assure real learning and practice opportunities.

This class meets three weeks: Sept. 28, October 5 & 12
Lecture, discussion, group exercises
In human relationships, conflict is inevitable . . . says who? Do you engage in conflict or avoid it entirely? Can you have a dynamic discussion about a difficult problem without having the roof blow off, or is the outcome typically negative? In this hands-on, interactive course you’ll consider embracing conflicts as learning opportunities. We’ll see a mock mediation, meet a panel of experts in the field, and find out about various conflict management methods, local resources, and volunteer opportunities.

Join others in exploring what you already know about solving interpersonal problems, what you can do to manage conflicts more effectively, and how you can model these skills in your home, office, or community.

September 30

Workshop:

Coaching Skills to Build Peak Performance

Time & Place:

8:15 AM – Credit Union of Colorado/1390 Logan Street

City/Town:

Denver, CO 80203

Description:

PHR/SPHR/GPHR recertification Credits (14 hours). How do you help someone learn from making mistakes? How do you help someone learn to do their own thinking and solve their own problems? How can you stop playing “fire fighter” and have employees who are capable and empowered? You will learn the answers to these questions and gain some valuable new tools and techniques for developing employees and making your job easier.

How do you negotiate with someone to change problem behavior? What do you do if they promise to change and then don’t? How can you be firm but fair, insistent but reasonable, tough without being autocratic? In this valuable seminar you will learn how to handle problem behaviors and poor performers in a proven, positive manner that is most likely to get real behavior changes and earn the respect and loyalty of your employees. You also will learn how to build rapport and trusting relationships to assure that you retain your good employees.

An introduction to Compassionate Communication during the one-hour Explorations program held each Sunday. Learn how we all share the same, basic human needs, and that each of our actions are a strategy to meet one or more of these needs. Learn greater authenticity in your communication, increased understanding, deepening connection and conflict resolution.

The focus of this program is Boundaries & Ethical Considerations. All are welcome especially Judges, Attorneys, Counselors, Psychologists, Social Workers, Mediators, and Parenting Coordinators / Decision-Makers.

Professionals in conflict studies, collaborative processes, public deliberation, and community planning are being brought together with business and community leaders to promote dialogue, creative solutions and collaboration for the common welfare.

This event is the initial organizing meeting to create a Colorado Professional Chapter of Mediators beyond Borders. Our intention is to mentor, educate, and support building conflict resolution capacity in our communities and to initiate or support peace building projects locally, and worldwide.

Mediators Beyond Borders is a non-profit humanitarian organization that brings together mediators and allied professionals to volunteer worldwide in support of conflict resolution and peace building through partnerships with communities in troubled locations worldwide.

Jefferson County has had a County-funded community mediation program since 1994. This proclamation by the Board of County Commissioners is simply one more way for Jefferson County government to express its ongoing support for Conflict Resolution in Colorado.

October 12

Workshop:

Invictus Movie Screening

Time & Place:

6:00 PM – Cyber Cafe-Student Center, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, 2201 South Gaylord Street

5:30-8 PM – Mountain View Room in the Adult Learning Center at Regis University located on the Lowell Campus 3333 Regis Blvd.

City/Town:

Denver

Description:

The Institute on the Common Good and the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado invite you to a unique interfaith dialogue experience titled, “Compassionate Acts: What does my faith call me to do through and after the election?”

The dialogue is the next step in the Religious Foundations Project – a joint program of the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado and the Institute on the Common Good. Through facilitated, small-group dialogue, the goal of the event is to provide an opportunity for participants to go deeper in their own faith traditions to explore their beliefs about important contemporary issues and to provide participants a safe, open space to dialogue with others from different faith traditions.

Please register by Oct. 6. Space is limited. We’d love to have you join us for this opportunity to engage in interfaith dialogue, intentional conversation, and faith exploration.

Cost:

None

Contact:

To register for this special event, please contact Fredricka Brown at fbrown@regis.edu or 303-458-4967.

8:30 AM – St. Catejans building on the Auraria Campus between Auraria Parkway, Speer Blvd. and Colfax Avenue. Buildings on campus have no street addresses. See campus map at www.ahec.edu

City/Town:

Denver, CO

Description:

In listening to our own stories and the stories of others, we can create bridges of peace, compassionate connection, and meaningful understanding. Listen with your body, mind, heart and soul. Seek to balance these levels in your own life and in the lives of others. This three-day conference focuses on the natural and practical synergism between peace and story. This conference is useful to everyone who wishes to incorporate peace and story into their work, including, but we hope not limited to, storytellers, peace workers, teachers, students, social workers, mediators, lawyers, and parents.

The community is invited to an Open House from 4:00 – 6:00 to meet our staff and learn about our programs. An interactive, informational talk will follow from 6:00 to 7:30 entitled Bullying: Research and Reality. This talk will be guided by our founder, Beverly Title, Ph.D., who is also a national expert on bullying prevention.

Presentation and guided discussion of the book The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Harold Fields, long time volunteer and supporter at The Conflict Center, will present on the book and lead the discussion. Participants can purchase the book at a reduced price at The Conflict Center and are encouraged to read the book prior to the event and come prepared to participate in the discussion.

Cost:

Event is free. The book can be purchased at the discount price of $20.

What you will learn:
*identify what is unique about faith communities that makes dealing with conflict difficult
*strategies to manage confrontation and de-escalate conflict
*Understand conflict’s role in forgiveness, mercy, justice and peace

We will discuss the role of ethical standards and behavior affecting immigration reform in today’s business environment. Mike Cote, editor of ColoradoBiz Magazine, will moderate our panel of distinguished Colorado business executives and community leaders.

The conference has two tracks. One is for the community members and the other track is for dispute resolution professionals. Key Note Speakers are: Senator Linda Newell and Steven Chavez, Director Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Human Rights. Presentations include: communication skills when disputes are escalating; conflict management for workplace, elder care and couples’ relationship issues; and ethics and critical thinking for dispute resolution professionals.

Cost:

Registration fees are $25 and $15 for students (lunch included). Registration will begin on September 21, 2010.

Please join us on October 22 from 7-9am as we honor Ronit Avni, founder of Just Vision and producer of Encounter Point and Budrus two internationally acclaimed films, Dr. James Jackson, founder of the Colorado based non-profit Project C.U.R.E. and Rashaad Fortune and Daniel Mackintosh, two SCG alumni from South Africa.

SCG works with young people locally, nationally and internationally to change the situation they live in, a situation that ranges from hope for peace to open war to stalemate. Our programs provide leadership training and communication skills that transform adversaries from a place of antagonism and fear to mutual respect and understanding. SCG’s goal is to build a generation of leaders who have the tools and confidence to construct sustainable solutions for peace.

Seeking Common Ground is a Denver, Colorado based non-profit founded in 1993. It is one of the oldest organizations in North America working to build peaceful communities through their diverse programs. This includes bringing together young Americans, Palestinians and Israeli’s through Building Bridges for Peace, exposing local high school students to peace-building programs through our Denver P.E.A.C.E. program and engaging alumni through Interns for Peace.

The Circles of Change of Awards Breakfast is our most important fundraiser, and unlike conventional fundraisers you will find this event both moving and inspirational. This year our breakfast will be on Friday, October 22, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver from 7:00-9:00am. It is a day when we honor agents of change from our local, national, and international community who are forging change in the face of impossible odds.

October 24

Workshop:

Sunday Sermon, Conflict Resolution Month

Time & Place:

Jefferson Unitarian Church, 14350 W. 32nd Avenue

City/Town:

Golden, CO

Description:

This Sunday’s sermon will bring together Conflict Resolution Month, UN Day, and the activist theater at JUC. Hear Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, JUC’s Social Justice minister, bring together these threads as we move towards a more peaceful and just world.

Conflict Transformation for Social Change by Mary Zinn and Nikki Schmidt

Time & Place:

5:30 PM – The Conflict Center, 4140 Tejon St.

City/Town:

Denver, CO 80211

Description:

As a community of activists, we have a responsibility to incorporate effective communication and conflict skills into our daily lives in order to obtain effective social change. Whether it involves communicating with people who disagree with us or just trying to create productive teams, this workshop will cover skills in self awareness, listening, non-blaming communication, and problem solving.

We are limiting participation in this workshop to around 15 participants. Please RSVP by contacting Jes at jes@letusrise.org as soon as possible. We will provide some food, but you are welcome to bring a dish to share as well! If you have any questions, please contact Jes Ward at jes@letusrise.org.

October 27

Workshop:

Seeking Common Ground – Film & discussion

Time & Place:

7:00 PM – 2981 Bergen Peak Drive

City/Town:

Evergreen, CO 80439

Description:

Seeking Common Ground is a non-profit organization whose mission is to build peaceful communities worldwide by giving young leaders the skills to become agents for social change and empowering them to transform their communities. SCG is best known for its flagship program, Building Bridges for Peace, which brings American, Israeli and Palestinian teens together for peace building and leadership development.